Iran arrests 50 suspected insurgents in oil province

Iran Focus Tehran, Iran, Mar. 09 – Iran’s Minister of Intelligence and Security said on Thursday that authorities had identified and apprehended more than 50 people in connection with the recent spate of bombings in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in south-western Iran.

“Unfortunately, these individuals had ties to the enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran abroad”, Hojjatoleslam Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ezhei told the official state news agency during a visit to the south-western city of Khorramshahr in Khuzestan Province.

“These individuals are currently in detention and will soon be handed over to the judicial officials”, Mohseni-Ezhei said.

There were several spates of bombings in the troubled region earlier this year and in 2005. Ahwaz, the capital of the Arab-dominated province, has been the scene of unremitting anti-government protests since early 2005.

“Our enemies are trying to strike a blow at the Islamic Republic and these disturbances are influenced by the efforts of the enemies of the sacred Islamic Republic”, he added.

Last week, the radical Shiite cleric who heads the Islamic Republic’s dreaded secret police repeated the charge that the attackers were guided from abroad.

A string of top Iranian officials including hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused Britain of being behind the bombings.

London has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks.